


I never get involved with people that I work with

by All_the_fandoms_and_fans



Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M, Falling In Love, Getting to Know Each Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-02
Updated: 2018-09-09
Packaged: 2019-06-20 15:17:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15537093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/All_the_fandoms_and_fans/pseuds/All_the_fandoms_and_fans
Summary: "...who spends more time at your house than she does at her own""You're saying I'm the 'Girl Next Door'"Mac just smiled in agreement.





	1. Something There?

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter set after episode 2.04 where Cage was shot with her vest on. (It basically assumes that no one was really injured when the armored car was flipped.)

He was sitting out by the fire pit when she arrived. It was quite late, almost midnight, but she'd decided to come over anyway, she was worried about him. He was alone, Bozer was away for the night, and everyone else had gone home. He'd said that he was OK after his kidnapping and she believed him, but some strange part of her wanted to make sure he was OK, anyway. He had his back to her as she made his way towards the door leading outside, he was fiddling with something, probably a paperclip, she smiled at his little habit, as she quietly knocked on the frame of the open door. He jumped a little and spun to look at her, alarm in his eyes before he saw her. He smiled, almost laughing at himself for jumping.

 

"Cage," he looked happy to see her.

 

"Sorry," she smiled and made her way over to sit beside him, wincing internally as the movement hurt her bruised ribs, "I didn't mean to make you jump," 

 

"No, I," he smiled warmly at her, "It's OK," He placed the item in his hands down between them. It was a paperclip, she saw that he'd twisted it into the shape of an M. 

 

"Mac, We'll catch him," she reached over and placed a hand on Mac's shoulder.

 

"Yeah," he replied, nodding and looking towards her, he placed a hand over hers and she felt the warmth of his fingers on her own cold hand, "We have to," He looked away for a second and then back to her, "What made you decide to come over?" he asked her.

 

"I couldn't sleep," she answered truthfully, "and I thought that maybe you'd be having the same trouble,"

 

"Looks like you were right," he said, gesturing at himself, "I'm very much 'not asleep'," She laughed at his weak joke, she wasn't sure why she laughed but it was late and she was tired. She inhaled sharply in pain as the movement of laughing caused pain to shoot across her rib-cage, folding her arms across her ribs in agony. Mac instantly looked concerned. "You sure you don't need to be in the hospital,"

 

"No, it's alright," the pain was subsiding, "I could just use some more painkillers," He nodded getting to his feet, walking inside and through to his bathroom to get her some painkillers. She got gingerly to her feet and made her way to the kitchen, leaning against the sink. He came back down the corridor and made his way over to her, passing her a bottle of painkiller pills. She was again, aware of the warmth of his hand as it brushed hers when she took the bottle from him. "Thanks" she said. She made eye contact with him as she thanked him, she could read his expression like a book, he looked sad that she was in pain, but she saw that he thought she was strong and wasn't exactly worried about her. She also saw something else, in the split second before their eye contact broke she saw something else in his eyes. 

 

She quickly looked to the bottle as he moved to the cupboard, she reminded herself that she shouldn't climb inside other peoples heads like that but with Mac she wanted to, she wanted to know what he was thinking. She couldn't help but hope there was something there. She took two pills from the bottle and replaced the lid. Besides, she thought, she never got involved with the people she worked with, but then again, with her job, who else was she supposed to get involved with. Suddenly, Mac was right beside her. sliding close to her as he reached past to fill a glass with water for her, she was aware of a tingling sensation where his arm brushed against hers. 

 

"here," he said, handing the full glass to her.

 

"thanks" she smiled at him and took the pills. When she looked at him again, she saw his look again and it pulled at something in her heart. There was definitely something there.


	2. Shiver at your touch

"Sorry I'm late guys," Cage called as she walked out the back door to see them all playing the infamous 'truth or dare' that almost always ended with someone, usually Jack, drinking hot sauce.

"No, Cage come over," Riley beckoned her over, "we are all about to see, Jack attempt a cartwheel," She slid over to make a space for her between herself and Mac. 

"Wow, and who dared him to hurt himself," she moved to sit down in the gap Riley had made. She noticed that Mac was watching her but looked away, blushing ever so slightly when she looked towards him.

"I did," said Bozer, from the other side of Mac, he looked up from his conversation with Matty. He was smiling proudly, "Go in then Jack, a dare's a dare." Jack made a face at them,

"Hey!" he protested, "I'll have you know that I was an award winning gymnast in my youth,"

"Lie!" Cage said without hesitation. Jack just looked at her and smiled.

"I will get one by you eventually, Cage," 

"Oh, come on, Dalton," Matty said before Cage could reply, "Any one of us could have told you that, that was a lie. Now get to the dare." Everyone cheered at her words, even Mac who had been weirdly silent since she'd arrived. Deciding he couldn't put it off any longer, Jack went for it. He almost did it too, unfortunately his foot slipped at the last second before he righted himself and he went crashing onto his back, on the ground. Everyone burst out laughing, and Jack quickly got to his feet, complaining about almost doing it and how it wasn't his fault. Mac made eye contact with her as the laughter died down, he smiled at her and she smiled in return. She saw Bozer get up behind Mac and make his way inside. 

"Well, whose turn is it next?" she asked, breaking her eye contact with Mac and looking around at the rest of the group.

"Oh, my dear, sweet, Cage," Bozer said, returning from the kitchen with a beer for her, "Yours, Truth or Dare?"

*************************************

After a few more rounds, they'd seen: Mac crack an egg on his head (leaving gloopy egg whites on his hair, neck, shirt and some on his face), Bozer send a picture of a watermelon to everyone in his contacts (there had been a few confused replies), Riley had done a handstand whilst telling everyone a story (she had already been telling the story, it wasn't part of the dare), Matty had to tell what her worst fear was (snakes, Cage thought she was lying but by then she'd had a few beers so 'who knows'), she'd had to tell multiple embarrassing high school anecdotes, and Jack had to of course drink a bottle of hot sauce. Matty, Riley and Bozer were still laughing at Jack and the hot sauce when aCge got up to find Mac. 

He was still trying to wash the egg out of his hair at the kitchen sink, but a lot of it was on the back of his head and he couldn't see it. He was bent over with his head under the tap and he'd taken off his shirt because the back of it had egg and water on it. She felt the effects of the beers as she walked over to him, she wasn't drunk but her brain felt a little bit fuzzy. She picked up a cloth and tapped his arm, he looked over his shoulder at her, water and soap running down his neck. When he straightened, she put both arms around him wetting the cloth in the sink, she was aware of herself pressed against the warm, bare skin on his back. She could feel him tense, and inhale sharply but he didn't try to push her away. She stayed like that for a moment wringing the cloth so that it was damp. She pulled back, placing one hand on his shoulder and using the cloth to mop the egg out of his hair at the back. She felt a jolt like an electric shock when her hand touched his skin, and she could have imagined it but she was sure she heard, or maybe felt, his breath catch when she touched him. She got most of the egg out of his hair, before reaching around him again and washing the cloth under the tap. She pulled away, touching his shoulder to make him turn to face her, she gently wiped the soap suds off his forehead and cheeks, pausing at his jaw for a moment. They made eye contact and she felt a jolt again, this time in her stomach, he was looking nervously at her, biting his bottom lip, his eyes darted across her face, she was suddenly hyper-aware that he was shirtless and that she was touching his face. She felt an overwhelming urge to either pull him closer and kiss him, or pull away and leave. She did neither of these things and instead, slid the cloth down his neck and chest where water had run down leaving water trails on his skin. She felt his heart beating quickly in his chest and she knew that hers was doing the same.

The sound of laughter getting closer reminded them that they weren't alone. Cage pulled back and practically threw the cloth into the sink, turning away from Mac to greet everyone as they walked over, still laughing loudly at Jack, who rushed to the fridge to get the milk.

"You know that doesn't really work Jack," Mac said to him as he chugged the milk straight out of the bottle, "you're better with ice cream, there's some in the freezer, I'm going to get a new shirt," he looked quickly at Cage as he left the kitchen, his look making her heart flutter in her chest. She fought to keep her face neutral as he left, she turned and joined the conversation that Riley, Bozer and Matty were having laughing along with them as Jack unceremoniously shoveled ice cream into his mouth.


	3. Going Somewhere

Cage found herself in Macs car. She'd been injured in a blast he'd caused and despite her being only a little bit sore he insisted on driving her home anyway. He was quiet, she saw that he kept throwing her glances out of the corner of her eye. Eventually she'd had enough,

"Mac, I'm fine," she sighed, "I'm barely even hurt, I could go on another mission no problem," leaned against the window, looking at him.

"I know, I just..." he trailed off.

"Blame yourself?" he bit his lip, not taking his eyes off the road ahead. After a moment of silence she realized he wouldn't respond so she shifted to look out the window before adding, "It's not your fault,"

A few moments later they pulled up in the parking lot of her building. He stopped the car and turned towards her, reaching across to brush her arm gently with his hand, her skin tingled where his fingers touched her arm.

"Cage, I," he paused, "I don't know if I could handle it if I lost someone else that I care about, especially if I killed them," He looked afraid, his eyes were wide, he was reaching for her hands, and he held them tightly in his. "I can't lose you," he said closing his eyes.

"Hey, look," she pulled her hands from his grip and grabbed his wrist instead, she brought his hand to her chest and pressed it to the center of her rib-cage, right over her heart "feel that?" she asked him, he opened his eyes and looked at her, he nodded. She could feel her heart beating, faster when he touched her, she took a deep breath so that he could feel her breathing. "I'm right here, Mac," she said, "and I'm alive," there was a moment where neither of them spoke, both just wanting that second to last forever. Cage was the first to break the silence, "Come inside," she wasn't sure where the suggestion came from but she was glad of it the moment she said it, "you're tired and its been a long day, just come in, stay here," He looked at her, nodding slowly, before smiling warmly at her,

"Okay," he whispered.

The door to her apartment closed behind them, she locked it, instantly feeling a lot safer. Despite it being a safe neighborhood, years as an agent made her feel safer with the door locked. 

"I'm gonna get changed, sorry, i don't have anything for you to change into," she said, he smiled at her, 

"It's OK, its not like we're working tomorrow, these clothes will be fine until i get home," 

"OK," she said slipping into her room to put some PJ's on. She wore a baggy shirt with a pair of comfy shorts. When she went back out, Mac was at the kitchen sink filling a glass with water, he turned to face her shutting off the tap and taking a drink,

"You hungry?" she asked realizing she was starving, "I'm going to order Chinese, want anything?" 

"Starving, I didn't realize until you said that," Cage placed their order in a few minutes and when she turned her attention back to him, he was staring at her,as she moved towards him. He looked at her like he wanted to do nothing but look at her forever, she felt her heart twist and before she knew it, she was standing so close to him that if either of them took too deep a breath, their bodies would touch. Her heart was racing again and this time she was sure his was too. His eyes darkened as he looked at her. 

"Cage," he whispered, breathless.

"Yeah?" she replied, she couldn't help flickering her eyes to his lips, he bit down on the bottom one suddenly, just for a second.

"Is this a good idea?" he asked.

"definitely," Cage moved forwards and kissed him, reaching her hands up to tangle them in his hair. For a split second he froze, before kissing her back desperately. His arms went around her back and waist, pulling her closer to him. He bent his head, placing kisses down her neck and along her collarbone, she ran her hands down his neck and over his back, feeling his muscles jump under her fingertips. He pushed back against her until she was pressed against the counter, then he was kissing her like she was air and he didn't ever plan to stop, she found herself gripping tightly to his shirt, bunching it between her fingers she could feel her heart beating against him and then... a loud ringing filled the kitchen, they slowly broke apart, each not wanting to let the other go, Mac reached for his phone, it was Jack. Mac answered it in case it was an emergency smiling apologetically at her. From Macs side of the conversation she gathered that Jack needed help with getting his TV to work and Mac was talking him through it. Cage went to the living room and put a movie on, sitting down on the couch. Mac came through a few minutes later, 

"Sorry, you know Jack,"

"Yeah, It's fine," she beckoned him over, "Come sit," he sat down on the couch next to her and she cuddled into him. She suddenly realized that she'd never had any kind of relationship that felt so easy, she smiled to herself as they cuddled together, happy that this thing with Mac was finally going somewhere.


	4. Girl Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Turns out either Mac and Cage haven't been as subtle as they thought or Riley is much better at reading a situation than Cage gave her credit for. Probably the latter, Right?

"Where are Mac, Jack and Bozer?" Matty asked the room, which consisted of Riley and Cage. Riley got to her feet at once,

"They're probably in the lab, I'll go and get them," She made for the door but Matty raised one hand indicating for her to stay.

"No, I think that I'll go get them, see what terribly important situation has come up that tops a matter of national security," A few tense seconds existed after Matty slammed the door of the war room behind her, then Riley and Cage both started laughing.

"Think they might be in trouble?" Cage asked sarcastically. Riley shrugged her shoulders exaggeratedly,

"Who knows, Matty's a hard one to read," they laughed. Riley slid closer so she was perched only on the very edge of her chair, "OK, now that its just the two of us, spill, whats the deal with you and Mac?" Cage blinked in surprise, she didn't think anyone knew that she and mac were kind of a thing, nothing had happened since that night at her apartment. She quickly turned her blink into a look of confusion,

"What are you talking about?" Riley lent back, smiling,

"One," Riley began, "You look straight at him every time he enters a room," 

"That doesn't..." Cage began before she was cut off again.

"Two, you both always end up together when we're in a group, at Mac's house for instance, after truth or dare,"

"We're friends, we can spend time together..." This time she could feel her face getting hot and knew her cheeks were probably flushed pink.

"Three, I haven't seen him look at anyone that way since Nikki, and I barely knew him then, but I know him now. And I know you. You may be good at reading people, but you're not good at lying,"

"Okay," Cage sighed and then smiled, suddenly feeling sixteen, having 'girl talk' with her friends, "We made out," The look on Riley's face made her quickly add, "Only once. It's not like we're dating or its anything serious." Riley was clearly in 'girl talk' mode as well because she was quick to ask questions.

"So, when did this happen?"

"Earlier this week, after Mac almost blew me up, he drove me home and ended up in my apartment, we ordered Chinese and it sort of, just, happened."

"Wait, did he kiss you, or did you kiss him?"

"I kissed him,"

"Typical Mac, afraid to make the first move," Riley smiled fondly, "Is he at least a good kisser?" Cage couldn't hide her smile and felt her face flush even more.

"He's not terrible," she said coyly. They both suddenly had a giggle fit, Cage realized they were definitely acting like sixteen-year-olds.

It was then that the door to the war room opened and Matty walked in, Mac and Bozer entered behind her, looking sheepish, Jack came in last of all with a white bandage on one of his hands. Cage's eyed flew to Mac when he entered and she noticed that Riley gave her a subtle eyebrow raise when she realized where Cage was looking.

"Turns out, blondie over here left Jack unsupervised with a new robot prototype and he managed to hurt his hand because it 'Attacked him'" Matty said, glaring at them.

"I was trying to save us all from the robot-apocalypse," Jack said in response to his telling-off.

"I don't want to hear it, Dalton." Matty's gaze fell on Riley and Cage who were both still quite giggly. "Want to tell me whats so funny, ladies?" They both stood up.

"Nothing, Matty, sorry," Cage said. 

"Right, Maybe i can finally start this briefing," she looked around the room, "Is that okay with all of you?" There was a murmur of yes' and nods around the room. 

"Good, now, this is your mission.."


	5. First Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maybe Cage is a little nervous for her and Macs first date.

She shouldn't be that nervous!

She has taken down drug dealers, unmasked hidden dictators, and through all that she was always the most dangerous person in any given room. She shouldn't be that nervous about a date with Mac, right?

OK, Maybe it was easier if you don't want someone to like you, or you want them to like a cover ID, but not the real you, someone almost no one had seen in months, if not years. So, yeah, you could say she was nervous as she watched Mac get out of his car, from her living room window, heading to the entrance of her building and pressing the buzzer so she would know to let him in.

He looked so handsome, she thought after he'd gone inside, out of view. He was wearing a navy blue shirt, and grey trousers and he made them look so good. A whole new wave of nerves flooded her stomach and she felt like she might throw up. She made her way to her bedroom and grabbed her silver purse, which paired nicely with the red, satin dress that fell right above her knees. She looked at herself in the mirror, suddenly hating her outfit even though she had thought she looked great in it not even fifteen minutes ago. Stop! She told herself. Its just nerves, you look great. The doorbell signaled Mac's arrival and she went to go answer the door.

"Hey there, handsome," she said as soon as she opened the door. He blushed slightly and looked at her, clearly surprised by her complement.

"Hey," he said in return, quickly taking her all in, "Wow, you look... amazing," It was her turn to blush, and she looked at the wall behind him, suddenly feeling that all the eye contact was too intense. Had she been paying attention, she might have realized that he seemed particularly drawn to her eyes, which seemed to shine out from her face like stars. He suddenly reached into a pocket and pulled out a couple of paperclips which had been twisted elegantly into the shape of a rose, he handed it to her and stepped back, looking own at his feet as he said, "I thought, actual roses would be kind of cliche, so I made you one instead," Cage, suddenly feeling less nervous, took the rose with a smile.

"It's perfect, thank you," He smiled at her and seemed to, again, get lost in her eyes, this time however she did notice. He broke the trance by asking,

"Well then? um, should we get going?" She locked her door and went to join him, he reached out and laced his fingers in hers as they walked down the corridor, leading her to his car. 

"OK, so, are you going to tell me where we're going, yet?" She asked when they were settled in his car. 

"No," He smiled over at her, "It's kind of a surprise," Twenty minutes later they pulled up outside an eighties style diner, complete with neon signs and lights around the door and windows. She got out of the car and took in the bright building, smiling. "My grandpa used to tell me stories, first dates at diners, you know?" Mac explained, gesturing to the building. 

"It's amazing, I've never been to a diner like this," they made their way inside, Cage noticed that there was an actual working jukebox in the corner, and that the booths were all made of bright red leather, and the tables had a black and white checkered pattern on them. Seating themselves in one of the booths, Cage asked, "How did you find this place," 

"I don't know really, I think I came past here on a mission once, a while back," he looked around at the bright colours on the walls, and then down to the menu on the table. "I suppose we should see what they have to eat, then," 

They spent well over an hour in the booth laughing, sit-down dancing and talking over burgers, fries, and milkshakes. The date felt much too short for Cage's liking and even the car journey back to her apartment felt like it just disappeared. Mac walked Cage up to her door and they paused for a moment on her doorstep. Cage unlocked and opened her door slightly, before turning and looking back to Mac. 

"Thank you so much," she said, "I had a really great time." 

"I did too," he nodded and smiled in agreement, "We should do this again?" he asked, unsure. "Definitely!" She said, much less calmly than she meant to. She took a deep breath before leaning in to kiss him. The kiss started off soft and sweet, but quickly deepened, her hands wound themselves in the front of his shirt and his hands were on her back and in her hair, pulling her closer to him. There was no space between them, she pushed him back against the wall of the corridor, taking control of the kiss and sliding her hands up, over his shoulders and onto his face. They both suddenly remembered that Cage's apartment was right there and they stumbled towards it, not breaking their kiss. Cage shoved the door closed behind them and it shut with a distinct click. Mac pushed her back this time, against the table in the kitchen, holding her there for a moment before lifting her up, so she was sat on the tabletop. He was nestled in between her knees and she wrapped her legs around his waist. She heard him groan into her mouth as she used her legs to hold him tighter against herself, he broke the kiss, placing kisses down her neck and she felt herself gasp and push against him as she felt him bite down near her collarbone. He quickly pulled back and kissed her on the mouth again, even more desperately and deeply than before. 

Suddenly part of her traitorous brain realized that maybe they were going a little fast, she cursed that part of her brain but had to agree. She unwound her legs from around Macs waist and pushed his shoulder gently. He took a step back, clearly getting the signal. 

"Sorry, guess I got a little carried away." He sounded as breathless as she felt. 

"So did I," She said, hopping down from the table and fixing her dress. "I'll call you, yeah?" 

"Yeah," he smiled at her, his face flushed from before, "Goodnight, and I'll see you soon," He leaned over and kissed her again, this time just a quick peck on the lips before leaving and closing the door behind him. Cage watched him get into his car and drive away, from the window. She couldn't wait until their next date.


	6. Perfect Imperfections

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just some of the things Cage loves about Mac.

It was moments like these that made Cage wonder why she had shut herself off from relationships for so long. Sitting with Riley, Matty, and Bozer, eating pizza and chatting whilst watching Mac and Jack argue about the arcade game they were playing. Mac was winning but apparently that was just because of a 'glitch in the game'. They had been dating for almost two weeks now and no one knew. Well, Riley had worked it out almost before Cage had, and sometimes she thought maybe Matty knew as well, but Bozer and Jack still didn't know, and neither did anyone else. 

There was a loud ringing noise as Mac won whatever game they were playing and Cage smiled at him when he glanced at her. Jack was grumbling about loosing as they made their way back to the table. 

It was the little things about Mac that made Cage fall for him. The way he fidgeted with his fingers when he was sitting, so naturally that most people wouldn't notice he was doing it, he probably didn't either. They way he relaxed when he was near the people he cared about. The way he would run his fingertips over her hand, arm, leg, hair when it was just the two of them, like he just needed to know she was there and she was close. The way he looked at her when he thought she couldn't see, like he was afraid she would up and leave. Or just vanish before his eyes. 

"OK, Cage, Its our turn, get me away from Jacks sore loosing." Riley said while pulling her by the wrist in the direction of the arcade games. Mac reached out and squeezed her arm as he passed, in what seemed like a friendly gesture. Riley just rolled her eyes, and continued pulling her towards the games.

After another hour of Jack demanding a rematch from Mac, they finally managed to pull him away. As everyone went their separate ways, Mac offered to drive Cage home. It felt so easy by now, being in each others company. It was calming and fun and exciting all rolled into one. They ended up cuddled together on her couch, falling asleep together after only a few minutes. When Cage woke up, with her head buried in Macs neck, she could feel him pressing her close, as if even whilst he slept, he was afraid that she would leave.

She held him close, lightly kissing his neck, gently enough not to wake him. She felt his breaths through his chest, steady and even, and felt her heart ache for him that he'd been left by the people he cared about, been abandoned and hurt so many times that even in his sleep he needed to hold her so tightly. Like he was afraid to let go. Like he couldn't.

She sighed against his neck and squeezed him as close as she could. Apparently he noticed her movement and stirred in his sleep.

"Sam?" he murmured.

"Yeah?" she smiled, "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you,"

"S'OK," He replied, with a sleepy smile. "Everything alright?"

"Yeah," she whispered back. That was another thing she loved about Mac. He was the only one who called her 'Sam'.


	7. Building Half-Standing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even in the phoenix, when things go bad, they go bad fast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit different than the others, I felt the need to put them in a stressful situation. Call me crazy but I think it worked well.

Laughter. That was the only thing Cage remembered from the conversation before everything went nuts. Laughter. At a joke Bozer made about Jacks fear of robots, not that she'll remember the joke later. 

It was a scream first, then a siren and then the war room shook and the glass shattered. The lights flashed red and half of the floor caved in, dropping Mac and Jack through to the floor below. Screams and shouts made the air thick with panic. Riley's, Bozer's, her own, Mac's and Jack's, all calling for each other. 

Dust clouded the air like fog. Riley made to run from next to Cage towards the edge of the floor, but Cage reached out and caught her, pulling her back before another large part of the floor caved in. Riley clutched at Cage in a panic.

Cage pushed Riley behind her and gingerly made her way as close to the edge of the floor as she felt safe going. She couldn't see well because it was so dark, shadowed in red emergency lights. 

"Mac, Jack," She called down. A pause... No response. "Guys, can you hear me? Guys?" She called again, louder. Another Pause..... then.

"Sam?" It was Mac's voice. Cage's heart leaped as he stood upon the rubble so she could see his face, He had a deep scratch across his forehead and down his temple that was bleeding down his face which she forced herself not to focus on. His hair looked grey with the ash that had settled in it.

"Are you OK? Is Jack there?" She asked.

"I'm fine but isn't Jack up there with you? Cage's stomach dropped.

"NO. He fell when you did, Me, Bozer and Riley are up here." Cage tried scanning the rubble but it was too dark to see anything. 

Shortly after they heard a shout. "Mac, Buddy get me outa here,"

Cage never heard Mac's response or saw him go to did Jack out of the rubble because Matty and a couple of agents arrived behind them. 

"Guys this way," she said. Bozer and Riley gingerly made their way over the unstable floor towards Matty, but Cage was reluctant to leave Mac behind. "Cage, We'll get them, but not from here. Agents are already searching the basement levels but this is the worst place to be right now, it's almost directly over the blast."

"What blast, Matty?" Cage asked as she relented, making her way towards Matty and the other agents, stepping over a crack in the floor that was visibly growing like in a cartoon. "Was it a bomb? Who set it off?"

"An undercover agent working for a terrorist network. They've been arrested but there are a lot of people still in danger here and we don't know if they were working alone or not"

They made their way along the corridor, sticking close to the walls where the floor would be most stable. Cage was all too aware of the comic book cracks that were evergrowing along the floors, this floor wouldn't last that much longer. 

A man leaped out from behind them, tackling Cage to the ground. The rest of them ran as Cage took care of the rogue agent. She knocked him to the ground with a solid kick to the ribs that sent him sprawling. Just as the cracks in the floor gave way. 

Cage found herself flat on her back, all the air knocked out of her lungs, gasping in the dusty rubble. She saw the man above her reaching for his gun and she moved on instinct. running down the corridor away from the gun and the danger.

She stopped running around the first corner. She was alone, in a dim, red-lit corridor. Dust hung in the air making it even harder for her to see. She leaned against the wall wanting to avoid any more floor falling, this time onto her. She could hear shouts echoing along the corridor and for the first time she realized that her ears were ringing loudly, probably from the fall but it could have been from before too. 

That was when she saw the huge hole in the floor below her, she made for it to make sure everyone was ok. When she looked below she saw two people in tac gear gathering bags, full of classified phoenix tech. Stuffing prototypes in ammo bags and gathering weapons. She could hear them talking.

"We should go downstairs, gather some hostages to use as shields and just make a run for it," It was a woman's voice, muffled through her mask but definitely a woman. 

"We can't, everyone in the lower levels is already out, the staircase wasn't harmed so they made it up no problem it was only the two levels above us that people got trapped on," Her male partner explained.

"Then we take hostages from there," Cage knew that if they got hostages and got away with the Phoenix tech it could be used to kill thousands of people.

She had no idea how to stop them, but she had to try at least.

She found herself thinking, What would Mac do? What would Mac do? Then it hit her, she made her way to the janitor's cupboard that was on the same hallway as her. She grabbed a can of bug spray. She rummaged in the pockets of the jackets hung in there and smiled in triumph when she found a lighter. Bug spray is flammable she thought, homemade flamethrower, precise enough that the won't accidentally set off or damage anything in those bags.

She raced down the stairs towards where she'd seen the couple and had almost reached the door when it opened suddenly and a blonde haired man came racing out. Mac. He grabbed her arm in surprise and she dropped the lighter and bug spray.

"Cage," He looked at her in alarm, before smiling. He looked, very, very relieved, "Come on, we gotta run." She didn't question it, and they both legged it up the stairs and out of the building before a huge explosion went off under the building. 

She saw a large group of agents a bit away from the building and among them were, Riley, Bozer, Jack, and Matty. She ran to them all giving her and Mac a group hug, apart from Jack who had injured his leg and was unable to stand, despite his best, painful looking efforts. Matty pulled her aside to be checked by the medical team as Mac bent down next to Jack to stop him trying to stand.

"Matty what happened?" she asked, plainly

"After you got separated from us we made it all the way out here before we realized you weren't behind us, Mac and Jack had made it out the back way with the help of the other agents who were on that floor. Mac was desperate to find you and went in to find you after you were the only person who hadn't made it out," Matty flashed her a knowing smile, "He was so worried about you," Cage smiled, before realizing something, 

"Did he blow me up?" She asked slightly outraged, but mostly joking because she knew there was a good explanation. "The building exploded, did he blow it up with me in it?

"I'm sure he..." Matty began before Mac interrupted, defending himself.

"That wasn't me, the two people there set it off when I went down to look for you, when I ran into you I was just hoping I'd find you before the bomb went off,"

He reached out and touched her arm, afraid to be too affectionate in public since they weren't 'public' yet. She looked at him, the first time she looked at him since the accident that wasn't adrenaline-fueled and crazy. Suddenly she didn't care who knew about them, she grabbed Mac's face and pulled him towards her mouth. He started, before wrapping his arms around her back, pulling her into a tight reassuring embrace. 

When they broke apart they were greeted with two very surprised faces belonging to Bozer and Jack, one smile from Matty and a small sigh from Riley, accompanied by a "Finally!"

Mac didn't even look at them, he was looking at her, "Sam? Are you ok?" he mumbled into her ear. She nodded

"Yeah," She could feel his hands shaking against her hips as he placed his head on her shoulder.

"I can't lose you," he mumbled against her shoulder, "I... I can't"

"You won't have to," she said firmly, wrapping her arms securely around him. "I promise,"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, hoped you enjoyed this more action-packed chapter. I know it was fast and chaotic but I wanted to try my hand at a more action based storyline.


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